07 October 2007

FanHouse: Mon AM 'Isiah's Conspiracy Theory' Edition

A typically overstuffed Monday morning...

Media:Nike Commercial Has Reebok Logo: I guess Nike wanted the commercial to be authentic, and authentic NFL jerseys all have Reebok logos. But given that another commercial in this series showed a defensive player wearing a No. 4 jersey, authenticity wasn't that important to Nike.

MLB:The Wild Card's Singular Detractor: "I MADE my arguments and went down in flames. History will prove me right." George Bush on Iraq? No, that was George Bush, the then owner of the Texas Rangers, a major league baseball team, after voting against baseball's new wild-card system in 1993. The owners' vote came down 27-1 against Mr Bush.

Clubhouse Celebration: NLDS Style: Baseball has the curious habit of celebrating the hell out of even the most minor accomplishments. Remember last year when the Tigers had a huge clubhouse party for clinching the Wild Card even though they'd been in first place all year? That habit just keeps on keeping on into the playoffs.

The Les Miles Myth: Dead: This is what you need to know: 5/5 on fourth down, once eschewing a chip-shot field goal that would bring the Tigers within seven for a fourth-and-three touchdown pass that was downright Tebow-esque, another time eschewing a chip-shot field goal that would tie the game for a Jacob Hester run that was just long enough. What does it take to sell real estate? It takes brass balls.

Meet Your First Place Oakland Raiders: Four games into the Lane Kiffin era, Oakland is 2-2. With the Broncos getting smoked by the Chargers this afternoon, the Raiders sit atop the division all by themselves.

Meet Your Next Hot Head-Coaching Candidate:Jason Garrett, in his first year on the job, has turned the Cowboys into one of the league's most dangerous offenses, and Wade Phillips is the head coach of a 4-0 team. As usually happens when one side of the ball dominates under a new coordinator, said coordinator becomes the "next hot head-coaching prospect."

What Are the Browns' Long-Term Plans for Derek Anderson? I don't expect Cleveland to re-sign Anderson this year -- they'll slap him with a first-round tender most likely -- and see how things play out in '08. Of course, the Browns might be amenable to trading Anderson this off-season, or signing him to a third-round tender if they're willing to give him up for a pick.

General:Track and Field, U.S. Sports Leagues Have Different Polices on Steroids: Who's Right? I don't know the answer, but I know which approach I like better: The American sports leagues. I watched Marion Jones win the 100 meters and I watched Shawne Merriman get 17 sacks and I watched Mark McGwire hit 70 homers, and I don't want to read a record book that treats my memories as fake. Jones may be a cheater, but she won five medals, and no amount of revisionist history can change that.

NBA:Al Sharpton Threatens Knicks Boycott... But Just Wants Isiah Apology: The Reverend says he'll organize picket lines at Madison Square Garden if Thomas doesn't apologize. It falls a bit short of calling for Zeke's job (as Sharpton did with Imus) and I can't imagine many folks who are paying thousands of dollars a year on Knicks tickets are going to be able to justify sitting some games out for something as vague as an "apology to all women."

Isiah's Conspiracy Theory: Instead of apologizing for impressively stupid misogynistic comments caught on video in a taped deposition, he accused the legal system of doctoring the tape to make him look bad. From the New York Post's Mark Joyella: "I know what I said and what I was talking about and how I said it," Thomas said at his team's training camp in Charleston, S.C. "It was taken out of context, spliced, and made to say something else."

Anucha on What Victory Means: ""They talked about that with me all the time, how these men, all these powerful men used to ruling with an iron fist, doing what they wanted and saying what they wanted and treating people however they wanted, they had been forced to come to court for a month and sit there and listen to these charges and have the public realize what they were really like: Isiah, James Dolan, Stephon Marbury, all of them."